Grammar Punk Blog

Proofreading

You’ve heard me lament about the subjugation of writing for printing, spelling, and overused words, well, today let us discuss proofreading. Or the lack thereof.

Now I for one applaud the advent of progress when it comes to the act of writing. I not only emphatically embrace writing with a computer (my first novel was written entirely on a typewriter—which means, make a mistake, retype the page!), email, IM, Twitter, et al. I love it all. And my philosophy is: if it makes writing easier, yahoo! However, as with many things that are suddenly easier, complacency sets in. And with complacency…okay, I’ll just say it, carelessness follows.

Communication is communication, no matter its format, and thus should be clear, readable, and free from mistakes—at least the easily found and fixed ones. Yes, I’m talking about even the most casual of missives. And, yes, I’m harping. Because it is with casual communication that bad habits are developed. And even the most casual communication reflects its author.

Proofreading, people! Take that extra couple of minutes after you’ve typed out what you want to say to reread what you’ve just written. You’ll be amazed at the common mistakes that can be avoided: missing words, commonly misspelled words, lack of punctuation, etc., and you’ll be astonished at how much more impressive even the simplest message can be if it is error-free.

So before you hit the Send button, stop and proofread. All who read you will appreciate it. And want to hear from you again. ;o)